


The First of Many

by Whoabumblebee



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Reference to travis, Romantic Fluff, Sleepovers, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 16:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17287499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whoabumblebee/pseuds/Whoabumblebee
Summary: Despite being friends for years, Sal and Larry have never spent the night at the other's place. This is because Sal was not ready to take off his mask around Larry. However, that is about to change





	The First of Many

**Author's Note:**

> This fic can be taken as platonic or romantic, idc how you view it while reading it because I left it very open ended

It was obvious that both boys were looking forward to this night. It was a monumental event, after all. For the first time in almost three years since becoming best friends, Sal and Larry were going to have a sleepover! 

Larry was probably much more excited than Sal was. Not that the blue haired boy wasn't looking forward to having Larry spend the night at his appartment. In fact, it was his own idea. Sal was likely less excited because this night would prove how close their bond was. Sal would have to take off his mask.

Larry wasn't surprised in the least that Sal seemed uncomfortable- nervous even- with the idea of exposing his face to someone. If Sal wasn't nervous, he wouldn't wear the prosthetic in the first place. But whatever happened to him in the past damaged his face so badly that of course it would make him self concious. However, Larry was on a mission. As Sal's best friend, it was his sworn duty to help Sal feel comfortable without his prosthetic mask on. He needed to know that he doesn't need to wear his prosthetic around Larry.

"I'm taking it off now." Sal announced in a hushed tone.

The boys had just changed from their day clothes, Larry now wearing what he referred to as his nighttime Sanity's Fall shirt. It was pretty much just the same as his regular shirt, except it was black and the logo was in white. Sal would have had a laugh at that any other time, but the fact he didn't showed just how worried he was.

Larry watched Sal who, despite just stating he was going to remove the prosthetic, had made no attempt to do so. He hadn't even made a move to take it off. It seemed like he had really just said it to psych himself up. Larry, watching Sal for anything, then noticed his friend shaking.

"Hey, dude, you don't have to do it if you're not ready." Larry told Sal, trying to console his anxious friend "I'm totally fine going back to the basement for the night." 

He couldn't see Sal's expression, but he imagined the blue haired boy's lip was trembling. From his spot next to Sal on Sal's bed, he could make out the slightest sign of the mask shaking. Larry almost reached out to physically comfort the shorter boy, to rub his back or something, but Sal's voice interrupted him for doing so.

"It's not that I don't want to. I trust you, Larry." Sal managed a reply, "But it's not easy just.. taking it off. I'm not a pretty sight."

Sal's words stemmed from years of low self confidence, since he hid behind the mask. This was an extremely delicate situation, so the proper response to what Sal had said would have to be something well thought out and delicate-

"You know I don't give a shit about that, Sally face." 

Then again, Larry tended to be quite blunt.

The taller boy continued talking, speaking from the heart "You're my best friend. I'm not gonna judge you for your apperance, that would make me the same as that asshole Travis."

"He's not a bad guy. Travis just has a lot going on at home, I think ..." Sal quipped. 

"The point is, I want you to feel comfortable around me to not feel ashamed of your face." Larry finally got to the point, "I'm not gonna force you to take the prosthetic off or anything like that. I'm just trying to say that I'm willing to wait however long it takes for you to feel like you can be free around me. I'm not gonna be freaked out by your face, Sal. You can do this whenever." 

It got eerily quiet again. Larry figured Sal was weighing his options in his head, so he didn't bother interrupting the process. He figured once Sal came to a conclusion, he would be headed back down the the basment. And he was totally fine with that.

After a few minutes, Sal reached up towards his pigtails. He took one in each hand and with a tug, the tied up hair spilled out. It was poofy from being tied up all day, so he had to finger comb it a bit to get the hair manageable. The blue locks covered most of Sal's head, but not where his mask was. Larry eagerly watched Sal's hands reach for the clasps of the mask at the back of his head. Anticipation started to build up in Larry's chest. The bottom clasp was undone first, so the mask wouldn't just fall from Sal's face. He then moved to the top one and-

"Larry, your staring isn't helping me feel less nervous." Sal interrupted the process of removing his mask to call out the taller boy, who had in fact been staring.

Larry apologized, blaming it on his excitement and looked away. He tried staring at the wall but as soon as he heard the second clasp disconnect, his attention tried to drift back to his friend. He was so curious as to what his friend looked like. Was it ok to look now? Suddenly, Larry's attention was taken by the feeling of cool silicone on his lap. 

"Can you put that on the table for me?" Sal asked cautiously.

Larry looked down and saw the mask, SAL'S mask, in his lap. He had really done it. Sal took off his prosthetic mask. Not wanting to make Sal more anxious by now staring at the prosthetic like a creep, he did as requested. Larry got up and placed the mask on Sal's table, but when he came back the blue haired boy was already laying down in bed. He had his back towards Larry, his body facing towards the wall.

This didn't bother Larry in the least. In fact, he almost expected it. A few kind words from him wouldn't get rid of Sal's self conciousness about his face. That's not how mental problems got eliviated. However, the fact that he trusted Larry enough to not have it on around him meant a lot. That was the first step. 

Larry turned out the light while he was up, engulfing the room in darkness. He made his way back to the bed and then climbed into with his friend. Sal stiffened at first, as Larry was laying right behind him, before relaxing when he realized the taller boy wasn't going to make him show off his face. Getting rid of that worry was something they would also have to work on. 

"Hey, you wanna listen to some music?" Larry offered, hoping to get Sal's mind off worrying about his face "I brought my mp3 player, and I've got the new Sanity's Fall album."

Sal let out an amused laugh, "Metal before bed? We'll get nightmares." 

Larry laughed back, relieved to hear genuine amusement in Sal's voice "Like we don't already have nightmares every night. I'm pretty sure the ghosts alone were enough nightmare fuel before all this cult shit came out." 

"In that case, I'll take an earbud." Sal replied.

Larry leaned his torso off the bed and dug out the smallish music device from the bag he had brought. Once he had it and his headphones, he plugged them in. Sal held up a hand, as he couldn't see from his position, allowing Larry to place one earbud in his hand one the taller boy got settled again. The boys both pushed an earbud into their ears before Larry selected the first song.

-

20 minutes passed before Sal heard soft snoring. He turned over just enough to see Larry fast asleep, his mouth practically wide open. Sal, seeing his friend in an unconcious state, felt comfortable enough to face him now. Larry looked pretty funny while he was asleep, making the blue haired boy stifle a laugh. 

"Heavy metal for a lullaby. You're so weird, Larry." Sal spoke softly, his voice filled with fondness for his strange friend.

Sal turned off the mp3 player, Sanity's fall's music coming to an abrupt end. He carefully slid Larry's earbud out from his ear after doing his own so he could put the device away. When he laid back down, Sal felt... odd. 

He didn't have his prosthetic on, which usually gave him a deep sense of unease whether or not someone was around. He felt surprisingly calm, though. Sal figured it must have been because his friend was asleep, and he knew Larry was a heavy sleeper. There was no chance of his friend seeing his face right now. There was something else, though. A feeling bubbling in his chest that was now coming to the surface. A good feeling. Accomplishment, maybe? Not wearing his prosthetic around his friend was a huge milestone after all, and something he never thought he would be able to do. It brought a smile to Sal's scarred lips as he realized he had done just that.

Even though Larry hadn't actually seen his face, he felt like he had taken a huge step forward. From now on, they would be closer than ever. They could even share a bed more often, if this kept up.

"Night, Larry face." Sal silently teased his sleeping best friend, "Thanks for being here for me. I'm lucky to have someone like you."

And with that, Sal settled back down in bed next to Larry. Despite the lively music they had been listening to before drifting off, Sal found himself having a sweet dream.


End file.
